The woman on the verge...of a breakthrough tears up, sparks up, and lets loose

Lady Gaga's Art of the Matter

Lady Gaga's Art of the Matter

On handling pressure: "What are you talking about, pressure? I'm great under pressure. I'm a warrior. I'm Rocky, round 12."

The difference between Gaga's high-priestess act and the girl who spends time with her family: "I am—Stefani is—a perpetually tortured artist. That's why I changed my name. I can't be her in public. She would be a mess!"

The Art of the Matter - Page 3

The Art of the Matter - Page 3

On raging against the critics who question the authenticity of her early struggles: "Everyone is so cynical—that I can't purely love my fans, or share an honest story about my past, without someone asking me if I really, truly struggled. Do you know how much dirt I ate? Do you know the men I had to crawl through, the people that disrespected my body, my mind, my heart?"